Fuel heater



April 22, 11930. P, SOPRANI 1,756,008

FUEL HEATER Filed Jan. 2 8, 1930 'Illlllll/A '114 Il Y 77 ,a w/-WHH s INQVEL/ TOR.

Patented Apr. 22, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE PAUL SOPRANI, F NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FIFTH T0 MARTIN C. PIZZAIA;

AND ONE-FIFTH TO INTEGRALES, .A FIRM PIZZAIA, AND NICK MARCHESE COMPOSED OF NICOLA ARIOLA, LINO FUEL HEATER Application led January 28, 1930. Serial No. 423,976.

This invention relates to fuel heaters for engines and the like, and more particularly to a device of thischaracter for use in preheating crude oil, or other relatively dense oils, to render the samecapablel of carburet-ion in the usual carbureters provided for gasoline engines, or for injection purposes with engines of the Diesel, semi-Diesel or other types, whereby a relatively low grade or inexpensive oil can be efliciently used in place of gasoline, in various types of engines or motors.

The primary object of the invention is to enable kerosene or crude oil, or the like,

having a density of, say, 32 to 36 degrees Baume, to be raised to a `temperature which will allow proper carburetion in practically any standard type of carbureter as at present used with automobile, stationary or marine engines, so that such kerosene, crude oil, or the like can be efficiently used as fuel for the engine, without any admixtureof gasoline or lighter fuels, thereby producing a great saving in t-he cost of fuel andpermitting cheaper grades of oils to be used in plac of gasoline.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple, eflicient fuel heater for attachment to practically any. standard gasoline engine, to enable the latter to be operated by less expensive grades of fuel, without the necessity of effecting any alteration of the construction of the carbureter or other parts f of the engine.

A still further object is to construct a fuel pre-heater adapted to initially heat the fuel to the temperature necessary for proper carburetionby electrical means, whereby the engine'can be started up, and to subsequently heat the fuel by means of. the exhaust temperature of saidV engine, .whereby the device can be operated at practically an insignificant eX- pense to the user, y

Another objectof the invention is to simplify andy improvefthe construction of fuel heaters or preheaters, generally, and to prod ucea unit'of this character which can be economically manufactured, and which lwill be highlyellcient in operation. j Withl heabove indicated objects in view,

and others which will hereinafter appear, the` invention resides in a certain novel construction and combinations and arrangements of parts, clearly described in the following specifcation and fully illustrated in thev accompanying drawings, which latter show an embodiment of the invention as at present preferred. 1

In said drawings: f

Figure l isa longitudinal sectional view throughthe body of the fuel heater;

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic side elevation, illustrating the installation of the fuel heater in the fuel line of an automobile engine; and

Figure 3 is a diagram showing the electrical connections for initially applying heat to the fuel heater before starting the engine.

VReferring more particularly to the drawings, the fuel heater in this instance includes a cylindrical body or casing l, of doublewalled construction, including an outer wall 2 and an inner wall 3, thereby forming an annular jacket 4 around the cylindrical inner wall 3. The interior of said inner wall provides a fuel chamber, the fuel being admitted to the fuel chamber through an inlet 7 provided at one end of the casing 1 and discharged through an outlet 8 provided atl the opposite end of the casing 1. The fuel inlet T in this instance is connected tothe usual vacuum tank of an automobile, indicated at 26, by means of a suitable pipe or connection 27; and the outlet 8 is adapted to deliver the heated fuel to a pipe or connection 39 communicating with the carbureter 22.

The annular jacket or chamber 4 constitutes a heating chamber for the fuel oil contained within the fuel chamber when the engine is in operation, and for this purpose Y the outer wall l is provided with an exhaust inlet 5 leading from the engine, this inlet 5 communicating with the chamber 4, an exhaust outlet 6 being provided for escape of the heated products of combustion after'the latter have performed the lfunction Vof heating the fuel chamber by passage'through the chamber 4. v

I have found in practice that with al fuel heater constructed as just described, the heat of the exhaust gases is suiicient to efficiently raise the temperature of the crude oil to the degree necessary for vaporization in the carbureter of an automobile engine, while the engine is in operation.

Since, however, the engine can not be started up practically With cold crude oil or the like as fuel, means are provided to initially heat the oil to the temperature required' for use preliminary to starting the engine. F or this purpose an electric heating element is provided Within the fuel chamber, this electric heating element in the present instance including a hollow cylindrical member constructed of refractory material, Vsuch as porcelain, a resistance coil l'being Wound' upon the cylindrical member 15, Within the fuel chamber. This coil 14 is provided with a metallic terminal 12 at one end, and a like terminal 13 at the opposite end,y the latter terminal 18 in this instance providing electric contact with the metallic body of the cylinder 1, and thus affording a ground. The terminal 12 is adapted to normally contact with a thermostatic element 19, which Vmay be in the form of a Spencer bi-metallic. disc; and this disc 19 is adapted to normally establish electrical connection through the usual storage battery of the vehicle, by means of a terminal 1G provided in the cylinder cover 18, this terminal 16 being suitably insulated from the metallic cover of the cylinder 1 by insulation 21, and havin-g connection With the disc 19 by means of a connecting Wire 17 which is ieXible and may be covered by glass beads for insulation purposes.

The disc 19 is held in place at the end of the fuel chamber by means of a pair of semiannular percelain members 10 and11, these members 10 and 11 being retained by means of a coiled spring 20 interposed between said members and the interior of the cover 18, this cover 18 being bolted or otherwise secured to the cylinder 1.

To supply current to theelectric heater for the fuel chamber, a suitable electrical connection Mis provided to extend from the positive pole of the storage battery 38, and thence to thet'erminal 16, connecting Wire 17, disc 19,V resistance coil 14, and thence to the negative pole of ,battery 38 through the ground 37. A suitable switch 35 is provided in the circuit Wire 34, this switch 35 being preferablym'ounted onthe' dash or instrument board of the` vehicle, and being V utilized to energize the electric heater for thev fuel chamber When the engine isstarted up. lVhen the electric` heating circuit isfvin operation the same is adapted to be made known by means of a suitablesignal, as for instance a spy lamp Which remains' lighted Whenever Ithe ,circuit i'sjclosedj but any other' type of visible or audible signal may be provided for the. purrQSe-A .A

Iny the installatioxi,of the fuel heat'enthe the engine exhaust pipe 24, by means of a flexible metallic pipe 23. The jacket or chamber 4 thus receives the proper amount of the exhaust gases of the engine, Which after having circulated through said jacket or chamber 41, returns through the connection (i and the metallic flexible pipe to the main exhaust 24 of the engine.

The drain plug of the carbureter 22 is preferably replaced With' a cock 30 commux-xicating, through a pipe 29, with the fuel line 31 which connects the vacuum tan-k v26 and main fuelv tank 'of the engine.

The fuel heated in the fuel chamber is discharged through the' outlet 8 and thence to the carbureter by means of a connecting pipe 39.

The operation of the cock 30 isv effected through the rod 32 and handle 33 which may be situated Within easy reach of the operator and alloivs the discharge of the cold fuel from `the carbureter before start-ing the engine.

To start the engine, the switch 35 is thrown to 'close the circuit through the electrical heating element. lhen the oil has reached the proper temperature, the thermostatic disc19, which as will be understood is submerged in the oil, will automatically snap away from the terminal member 12, thus breaking the electric circuit. At the same time this opening of the circuit will extinguish the lamp 36, which will acquaintthe operator -With the fact that the oil has been heatedy toi a temperature suflicient to Vstart the engine. The engine is then started, and thereafter the heat is supplied by the eX-haust gases through the jacket orY chamber 4. Under exceptionally `cold'conditions it may be found desirable to employ both the electrical heating means and the exhaust gas heating'means, but under normal conditions the exhaust gas will be found sutlicient.v Whenever the latter should not impart sufficient heat, however, the cooling of theoil Willv cause the d-isc 19-to again establish the electrical circuit for heating the oil electrically. Thus the device operates automatically under any condi-tion of temperature. l

The use of the present device results in a great saving in cost of fuel, particularly with engines" oflarge capacity; and the device equally adaptable for use with automobile, marine, areplane, or other; typesof internal combustion engines `Which ordinarily use gasoline or other relatively expensive grades offu'el. l g f The liereinbe'fore described construction admits of considerable modification Without departing from Athe spirit of the invention;- tliere'fore, it is4 the Wish vnot to be liinitedtd thef precise arrangements shown andde- 'seribed Wli-ch are, asy aforesaid, by'way of illustration I'iierely. In other- Words'V ythe sope of the. proteccin cantemplted be izo taken solely from the appended claims, interpreted as broadly as is consistent with the prior art.

Vhat I claim is:

1. A fuel heating device for engines including an inner and an outer chamber, an electrical heating device in said inner chamber, means for admitting fuel to and discharging said fuel from said inner chamber, said outer chamber including an inlet member to receive exhaust Agases from said engine and an outlet member to discharge said exhaust gases therefrom, an electrical circuit operative to energize said electrical heating element, means operative to open said electrical circuit when said fuel attains a predetermined temperature suitable for use of said fuel in said engine, whereby, on starting said engine, said exhaust gases passing through said outer chamber effect subsequent heating of said fuel during operation of said engine.

2. A fuel heating device for engines including a cylinder having inner and outer chambers, an electrical heating element in said inner chamber, means for passing fuel through said inner chamber, a source of electrical energy for said electrical heating element, means to render said electrical heating element inoperative When the fuel in said inner chamber attains a predetermined temperature, and means for passing exhaust gases from said engine through said outer chamber for heating the fuel passing through said inner chamber.

3. A fuel heating device for engines including a cylinder having inner and outer chambers, an electrical heating element in said inner chamber, means for admitting fuel to and discharging the same from said inner chamber, a source of electrical energy for said electrical heating element, a thermostatic element for rendering said electrical heating element inoperative when the fuel in said fuel chamber attains a predetermined temperature, means for passing exhaust gases from said engine through said outer chamber for heating said inner fuel containing chamber, and a signal device associated with the operation of said electrical heating element.

In testimony whereof, I hereby aflix my signature.

' PAUL SOPRANI. 

